Chronicles: Everything Counts
by The-Snoozer
Summary: Prequel to "A Royal Visit". As the Fifth Blight runs rampant, three Wardens start out the most important journey of their lives, on a quest to save Ferelden! Multiple Wardens, Multiple pairings. Spoilers, of course.
1. Origin Arc: Lyra's Origin

**Here it is, the prequel to "A Royal Visit".**

**There will be a few changes to the original story, mainly due to my own head-canon, and what I revealed in my previous story "A Royal Visit".**

**Also, Merrill will be her DA2 self. Because why not.**

**So, I don't own DA:O, if I did, would I really be writing Fanfiction about it?**

* * *

_The moment Tamlen touched the mirror, Lyra's life changed…_

The day had started off as normal, she woke up, bathed in the river and snuck away from that days duties in order to go hunt with her Best friend, knowing full well she'd be yelled at later.

Tamlen wasn't expecting her to turn up at their favourite tree perch, but he didn't complain. He was fond of the Hazel haired Elf. She was always so cheery and bright, and was decent conversation. He almost felt like he…

"Hey sleepyhead! Wake up! There's Halla to hunt!" Came Lyra's voice.

Ah well, Tamlen thought, I can always tell her later.

The pair pulled back the bowstrings on their bows, and let fly.

It was after they found the third Halla that they stumbled upon a group of three humans. Tamlen grinned.

"You mind if I meet them first Lyra?" He asked.

Lyra giggled. "Go ahead Tam!"

Tamlen flushed red, and slid down to the ground.

The humans were shocked when Tamlen appeared to them, bow already drawn.

"A Dalish!" One of them said, crawling back in fear.

"Indeed, and you are somewhere you shouldn't be." Tamlen said, a slight smile on his face.

"Let us pass Elf, you've no right to stop us!"

"Oh? Is that so."

Tamlen grinned as the three Shems looked up, only to see Lyra up a tree, her bow trailing at them.

"Y-Yes, you can't stop us! We didn't even know this forest was yours!" The first Shem spoke up again.

"You idiot, Dalish are wanderers. This forest isn't ours, dolt. You're just too close to our camp." Lyra said, mirth creeping into her voice.

"We've never done nothin' to you though!"

"That, my Shem friend, is a double negative." Lyra pointed out. "Anyway, why are you here, Shems? There is nothing of worth in these forests."

"We're just here for the cave!"

Lyra let fly with an arrow, which impacted the ground near one of the Shems ankle.

"What cave?"

The Shem stammered, and held out shard of rock to Tamlen.

Lyra peered at Tamlen's expression. "What's wrong Tam?"

"Is this…I think this is written Elvish!"

Lyra merely stared at Tamlen.

"We found it by the cave! Honest! It's just a short walk away! We gave us because.."

"Because of what?" Lyra asked, jumping from her perch, and keeping her bow ready.

"Because of the demons!"

This gave both Elves pause.

"Go." Lyra said.

"Wh-What?"

"I said, go!" Lyra yelled at them, and the Shems bolted off, and Lyra burst into laughter.

"Come on Tam, let's go investigate this 'cave'. If it actually exists"

* * *

As it turned out, the cave did in fact exist. Lyra's demeanour had changed, she was nervy and reserved. Tamlen laughed to himself, Lyra was often the brave one, charging wolves arm with only a bow….with no arrows.

Yet here she was, looking ready to cry.

Tamlen wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight.

"Come on Lyra, we'll be in and out in a minute." He reassured her.

Tamlen was wrong. As the pair delved deeper into the cave, they faced nightmarish creatures, skeletons, massive spiders and then, in one room, they faced something like a bear, but it had jagged spines jutting out of its spine.

After barely managing to kill the Bear-thing, the pair carried on to the final room.

Standing, as it had done for hundreds of years, in the middle of the room, was a mirror.

"See, just a mirror, we can go now." Lyra insisted.

"Now lethallan, we came this way, didn't we?" Tamlen said, walking over to the mirror.

"Tam..please."

Tamlen chuckled and peered at the mirror. "What was that?" He said.

"Tam! That isn't funny!" Lyra yelled, her cheeks flushed red.

"No..no! Im not kidding here Lyra..there it is again!"

Lyra began to storm over to him, when he touched it.

All Lyra remembered following this, was a bright, white light.

* * *

When she finally did wake, she was greeted by Fenarel.

"You're awake? Thank Mythal! It's been two days!"

Lyra stared at Fenarel. "…Can you repeat that?"

"..You've been out for two days." Fenarel repeated.

There was a couh, and a _Shemlen _walked in, with the Keeper Marethari beside him.

"Da'len. It is good to see you awake." Marethari said, walking up to her, and embracing her.

"Keeper, who is the Sh-..human?" Lyra asked, making an effort to be polite.

"This is Duncan. He is a Grey Warden and he found you, Da'len. Had it been any longer, I doubt even my magic could have saved you."

Lyra mumbled her thanks. "Where is Tamlen Keeper?"

Marethari shook her head. "He was not with you when Duncan found you."

Lyra stuggled to her feet. "Then I must find him."

Marethari, in a uncharacteristic show of strength, pushed Lyra back on the mat.

"No, Da'len. You must rest."

Lyra growled, but bid as she was bid.

* * *

A few hours later, and Keeper finally allowed her to leave, so long as she brought Merrill with her, Fenarel asked to come with them, and Lyra accepted without question. Marethari granted permission, and Merrill was happy enough for more company.

If Lyra was cheery, Merrill was downright scarily cheery. Always nattered on, with her questions about…stuff.

Fenarel noted a change in Lyra, she was acting _serious_. She was cutting down the dark things that attacked them without even blinking.

When they reached the so called "Mirror-Chamber", Duncan was already there.

"Get back you three." He told them, and proceeded to smash the mirror to shards.

Lyra didn't remember much of what happened on the way back. It was all dull, white noise to her.

Then Marethari dropped the ball.

She was being sent away.

* * *

As she walked down the two rows of her clan, bidding everyone goodbye, she stopped at Merrill, and placed a hand on her shoulder, and offered her a small smile.

"Take care of yourself Merrill."

…Those were the last words Lyra Mahariel said to her clan for five years.

She climbed onto the horse and cart the Duncan travelled on, and as the cart started to roll on, she waved to her clan, tears slowly fell down her cheeks.

"Goodbye."

**Up next, Solona starts her journey!**


	2. Origin Arc: Solona's Origin

**Sorry! I had Uni to sort out, but! I managed to get into the second year, which is good. **

**Also, I will be changing some of the characters personalities. For Jowan, he's far more…understanding.**

**On with the show!**

_The moment Jowan asked for her help, Solona's life changed…_

She had just woken up. The night before, she had undergone her Harrowing. Her vision was still blurry, and her head hurt like hell.

"You're awake!"

Solona's head snapped to look at the origin of the voice. "Demon!"

"Woah, it's Jowan! Jowan! I'm no demon."

Solona blinked, shook her head, and peered at Jowan.

"Oh…sorry Jowan." Solona grinned at her friend. She had known Jowan for as long as she could remember, and he was her best friend for most of her life. She rubbed her head and winced. "Hgnn..my head hurts."

"That's common Solona….can you..uh..give me any hint as to what the Harrowing is?" Jowan asked. Solona knew full well that Jowan had yet to go through his Harrowing, in spite of the fact that he had been in the Tower for two years longer than her.

"Jowan, you know I can't tell you, right?"

"Worth a shot, I suppose. Irving wanted to see you, by the way." Jowan said as he walked away. "Oh..and congratulations." Jowan offered a vague wave as he walked away.

Solona ran a hand through her hair, dusted off her robe, and positively skipped out of the room….

…Straight into Senior Enchanter Wynne.

"Oh cra-..I mean, sorry, Senior Enchanter. I wasn' watching where I was goin'.." Solona said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"It is fine, child." Wynne smiled warmly. "I believe congratulations are in order, you passed your harrowing, did you not?"

"Yup! Irvin-….." Solona stopped, realisation dawning on her.

"Hmm?"

"OH CRAP, IRVING!" Solona yelled, and ran off, yelling "Thanks Wynne!" at the top of her voice as she did so.

The Elder Mage chuckled, and headed for the doors. Two Templars were there waiting for her.

"John, Serrec." She greeted them.

John nodded at her, and Serrec offered a vague, casual salute.

"Wynne. Ready to head out?" Serrec asked.

"Indeed. Let us be off Gentlemen."

Solona skidded past Irving's office, managed to regain her balance, and then walked into the office as though nothing had happened.

The first thing that Solona noticed was that Irving looked tired. The Second was that Greagoir clearly hadn't washed his armour in sometime, and the third was that there were two new people in the room.

One was a man that was older than Jowan, and younger than Greagoir. He had an impressive beard, unmatching swords and ornate armour. His hair was starting to grey, and from what Solona totally didn't mean to overhear, he spoke with a vague 'noble' tone of voice.

The Elf looked grumpy. Solona could tell from her tattoos (No, not tattoos, vallaslin, Solona mentally corrected herself) that she was a Dalish Elf. She had a bow and a quiver strapped to her back, and a stylized stag-head belt buckle that seemed to be made of wood.

"First Echant-*pant* - chanter. You uh..wanted to see me?" Solona panted.

Irving looked at her, and smiled.

"Ah yes. Duncan, this is the promising Mage I told you about." The First Enchanter introduced Solona.

The bearded man looked Solona over, and smiled.

"Good morning, Miss Amell. Congratulations on your Harrowing."

Solona tilted her head. "Huh..y'know, If you're looking for another mage to come lend a hand, I can go now, right First Enchanter?"

Irving nodded. "Indeed, she might even make a good Warden."

Duncan gave a genuinely curious look. "Is that so? I will take it into account, First Enchanter."

Irving smiled "Solona, would you please show our guests to their rooms? I'm sure that they are very tired."

Solona nodded, and gestured for Duncan and 'Grumpy Elf' to follow.

Upon reaching the room (which turned out to be on the same floor), Duncan thanked her, and went to write something in his small journal (which bore the insignia of the Grey Wardens), which gave Solona the opportunity to talk with the elf.

"So." She started. "What's your name?"

The Elf stared blankly at Solona. "Lyra."

"'S a nice name. So Lyra, where are you from?"

"The Sabrae Clan."

"I bet you-"

"You ask a lot of questions for a mage, you know that?" Lyra deadpanned.

"Yup!" Solona grinned. "We've got some books on Elven lore, 'm sure Irving would let you read them while you're here."

Lyra tilted her head. "And…what do you want in return?"

"Huh? Return?...Silly! If you want to read, just read! No payment needed!"

Lyra shook her head slightly. "Shem's are weird sometimes."

Solona talked with Lyra for about an hour or so, before she spied Jowan at the door.

"I better go, see y'round, Lyra. "

"See you." Lyra said, before adding, "Crazy girl.", to herself.

Jowan seemed…off, when Solona got close to him, looking over his shoulder every so often.

"Hi Jowan!" Solona called, while he was looking over his shoulder, of course.

"Gaaah! Don't do that!" Jowan scowled, and grabbed her hand, dragging her off to the make-shift chantry area of the tower.

"Okay, we can talk here."

"Jowan?"

"Yes Solona?"

"There's a priestess standing right there." Solona said, pointing at said priestess.

"Well, remember how I said I was sweet on a girl? This is Lily."

Solona's eyes widened. "All this time I figured she was a figment of your imagination! Wait..if Lily's real..does that mean the magic cats that Alim sees are real too?!"

"No…Alim is crazy."

"Daww..'s nice to meet you Lily." Solona said, bouncing right back out of her disappointment.

"You too Solona, Jowan's told me a lot about you."

Solona grinned. "So…what are we doing that is undoubtedly dangerous and will get us in a shit load of trouble this time?"

Jowan chuckled. "The Phylactery chamber."

"Why?"

"Lily and I are leaving. They're going to turn me tranquil Lona, take away everything that makes me me!"

"Calm down! I'll help..just..meet me down there!" Solona said, before she slowly walked away.

Solona knocked on Irving's office door, and waited to be called in. When she was, she came into the room, and promptly turned her gaze to a _very _interesting part of the carpet, with her arms behind her back.

Irving was, understandably surprised to see his star pupil acting in such a shy manner. "Child? What's wrong?"

"Sir.." In one word, Irving knew it was likely to be serious. Solona, in all her years of being his apprentice, she had never addressed him as 'Sir'.

"Solona, it's alright. Take your time."

In the following two minutes, Solona explained Jowan's plan, peppered with the occasional "He's my friend and I hate to do this".

When she was finished, Irving hugged her. "Forgive me for what I'm about to ask, Solona. But you need to 'help' them in. If we merely do so now, the Chantry will deny that one of their own would aid a Mage go rogue. They need to be caught red-handed.. I will ensure that Greagoir knows you're helping me, you won't get in any trouble. I promise."

Irving, it would turn out, would only be partially right.

Greagoir met the trio as they left the underground chambers were the phylacteries were stored, and he was not happy, not in the slightest.

As if her day couldn't get any worse, the Maker proved her wrong.

Jowan, her best friend, used _blood magic _to escape.

A full day later, Duncan and Lyra were about to leave, Solona asked to go with them.

"Absolutely not!" Greagoir yelled.

"Why not Greagoir? Do we not reward good service? Solona gets to see the world, and the Grey Wardens gain a powerful recruit. And it is one less room you need to monitor."

Greagoir conceded the point.

Solona was given time to pack, and an hour later, she hefted her pack on her back, and said her goodbyes. Even saying 'Thanks' to Greagoir, who, in an uncharacteristic show of affection, ruffled her hair, and told her to 'stay safe out there'.

When it came to Irving, Solona was barely holding back her tears.

"You'll do good things Solona. I'm sure."

Duncan interrupted "Apologies, but we need to get moving, we're expected in Orzammar by weeks end."

The doors opened, and Solona left the tower.

**Being doing some figuring whilst I wrote this one, and I have about the least, 35 chapters to go, excluding epilogues, which have already been written.**

**Next, to Orzammar, and Natia! **


	3. Origin Arc: Natia's Origin

**Today, we meet our eventual Hero, Natia Brosca.**

_The moment Natia escaped that cell, her life changed..._

_In a dank pair of cells, somewhere in Orzammar, a pair of Casteless had, for all intents and purposes, their last meaningful conversation._

"_So, how exactly did we get here again Natia?" _

"_It's quite the tale, Leske."_

"_Well, given it is the last tale I'm ever likely to hear, make it good."_

"_Right y'are Leske my friend."_

* * *

Natia scowled inwardly as she opened the door for Beraht. She _hated_ the man, and wanted nothing more than to torture him in some incredibly creative ways before dumping him down a mine shaft. The only problem with her plan was..her sister would likely be killed in retribution, and as her official 'highly protective younger sister', killing Beraht wasn't worth it. Just.

So the nug-humper in question reminded them (As he always did) that he 'owned' them, and that if Rica didn't get pregnant with a Noble-spawn soon, she, and her sister, would both be thrown out on their arses before they could even say "nug".

Today, the unfortunate that had earned Berahts ire was called 'Oskias', or as Leske put it, 'Old Sky Arse'. Natia laughed at that, it was what she liked about Leske, his ability to make humour out of anything. That, and, by Casteless standards at least, was _seriously_ handsome.

So after a fairly uneventful trek (one on which the pair only needed to kill ONE servant caste dwarf for spitting on them, by dragging the man into a side alley and stabbing him. Repeatedly. With rusty kinves.), the pair arrived at Tapsters Tavern. They recognised Old Sky Arse almost immediately, thanks in part to the 'Casteless brand' on the hands face (It was always nice of the Casteless Ancestors to smile on them as they did their business).

"Hello Old Sk-..Oskias." Natia said jovially, as she took a seat. "We're here from a…mutual friend. Know who we mean?"

"Oh..oh n-no..please t-tell me you aren't from Beraht, because I'm not sure I could h-h-handle that."

Stone, Natia hated it when they snivelled.

"Come now, we're only here to ensure you _don't _make the worst mistake of your life." Natia said, a smirk forming on her face.

"I've always been l-l-loyal to Beraht. I swear! He looks after me and my family. Always! I was just runnin' that deal to repay him! Honest!"

"What deal?"

"Lyrium! Surfacers pay top coin for it..I figured I'd be able to pay Beraht if it worked!"

Natia chuckled, and then the chuckle grew into a full bodied laugh.

"Oh, oh..that is priceless! Buuut, it was a bad idea, right Leske?"

Leske nodded, before yelling "Could anyone who's not about to die please look away? This'll get _messy._"

"Help Gua-.." Oskias was stopped midsentence by Natia's blade cutting through his throat.

"Job's done Leske." Natia said, as she pocketed the two small chunks of Lyrium. Leske grinned, and the pair left Tapsters, it's patrons didn't even look up from their drinks.

After informed their _illustrious _boss of their success, he sent Natia off on another job, to 'fix' the provings, so she, and her ever present partner, Leske set off to the hallowed duelling grounds!

* * *

"_Hey! 'Ever present partner'?!" Leske asked in a joking tone._

"_I;m just telling it as people would want to hear it!"_

"_Salroka, I'm the only one here."_

"_Don't ruin it Leske!"_

* * *

The guard at the doors to the Proving was unhappy to see a pair of Casteless wanting entrance to say the least.

"Halt brand, you have no place here. Go back to your gutter and die, better yet, just go die in a corner in dust town, we don't need castles corpses clogging our drains."

Natia grinned, and closed her eyes. She dug into her pocket, and span an entrance coin between her thumb and forefinger.

"Fine. But stay to the ground, we don't need The Wardens seeing you."

* * *

"_Then you dared me to talk to that White-haired Warden_ " _Natia said._

"_Hahah..what did she say her name was again? Soolana?"_

"_Solona, Leske."_

"_Well excuuuuse me."_

"_Eh, lighten up, she was more fun that broody Elf girl."_

"_That Salroka, is sadly true. I hear Elf girls are.."_

"_Leske, please, I'm the storyteller here."_

* * *

After speaking with the Wardens, (Upon a dare by Leske.) they turned up at Everd's chambers, only to find him stone drunk.

"He could draw a dead man as an opponent and still manage to lose.

"Heheh..that isn't our main problem now Leske."

"Oh right. Beraht's gonna kill us."

"Plan?"

"Go into the crowd and start a landslide, then make our way top side?"

"Or..I could wear his armour and win?"

"That could work too!"

After flirting her way into her opponents room and drugging his basin, Natia returned to Everd's room and put on his armour.

She went through one opponent, then another, and then another Natia had won!…and then..

"Stop! Fraud!"

Shit…

Everd staggered into view. The ruse had failed. The crowd fell silent.

"Guards!" Came the voice of Lord Harrowmount.

Natia removed the helmet, and threw it to the ground, and just before the guards started beating her with their clubs, she raised both hands into the air, and lifted the middle fingers of both of them high, and massive grin on her face.

Fuck yeah.

* * *

"_And then you woke me up, and told me to remind you how we got here."_

"_Well, as last stands go, I'd say you've already earned a place in history. Reviled, of course. The name Natia never gracing another dwarf again, but, not bad at all."_

"_Eh, guess that's something. Say, this look like regular guard cells to you?"_

"_Now you mention it.."_

"Good, you're awake. Beraht will be happy to hear that." Came the _always charming _voice of Jarvia.

"Jariva, always a pleas-..hey wait, I'm about to die, so fuck it. Jarvia. You're a bitch. Always have been." Natia grinned.

"Aww, how sweet. I think I'll ask to remove your tongue myself Brosca. Beraht lost a lot of gold for Lord Vollney today. He was in a real state when I brought you into his estate."

"Maybe he'll finally let you fuck him as reward, huh?"

"Watch your tongue! I'll be by later, with some toys.."

Natia waited for her to walk away. "Dumb bitch."

"What makes you say that?" Leske asked.

Natia merely pushed her cell door open. "It usually helps if you lock the cell door."

Leske let out a laugh. "Hah! I knew there was a reason I liked you!"

As they made their daring escape, stealing armour and weapons as they did so, who should show up but…Beraht.

Natia registered that they insulted her sister, and then her, but mostly, they insulted her sister!

With one single throw of a knife, Beraht fell face first. Deader than dead. His guards fled.

"Did you see that?! He was all like 'I'll teach you a lesson' and you sodding killed him in one shot!" Leske said, he was almost bouncing.

"Now we take over, right?" Natia asked, with a grin.

"Slow down Salroka."

"Don't ruin our moment of triumph. But I take your point. Time to go." And they did, but not before looting Beraht's personal office, for old time's sake.

* * *

They managed to get back to the city, and were greeted by a wall of guardsmen, Harrowmount was with them, as were all three Wardens. Natia thought that this would be a good time to…oh sod it.

"Beraht's dead!" She yelled, joy erupting in her voice as the implications set in.

"Dead…he had many enemies but.."

One of the Wardens, the male human spoke up now. "Once again, you show prowess."

"Nice to be noticed." Natia said in deadpan.

"In fact, I offer you a place in our order." He continued.

"What, she is wanted for treason you can't just-"

"Oh but I can." The Warden pointed out.

"Wardens go top side and are treated equally, yeah?" Natia asked.

"Indeed."

"Then sodding stone, I accept."

Leske came to bid her goodbye, and joked about finally being able to hit on her sister. Natia laughed, right before stamping on his foot.

"Take care Salroka. Show the Darkspawn how we do things in Dust town." He said, chuckling.

"Deal Salroka."

* * *

When arriving top side, Duncan talked to her.

"Time to go. My name is Duncan, I do not believe I heard your name."

"Well Duncan, I'm Natia Brosca. You can call me Natia, or Duster. Whatever works."

The two other wardens came over now.

"Let us do this formally then. My name is Lyra Mahariel." The Elf said. She had markings vaguely similar to her brand.

"What's with the brands Lyra?"

"Vallaslin. Tattoos."

"Riight..so, who's the jumpin' nug?" Natia asked, referring to the girl hopping from one foot to another.

"Solona Amell!" The mage chirped happily "On to Ostagar!"

Natia shrugged. "If you say so Lona. On to Ostagar it is!"

Solona grinned, and raised an arm "Yeah!"

**Next, Ostagar!**


	4. Prologue Arc: Ostagar

Ostagar. The proud bastion of the Korcari Wilds, and the boundary of the old Tevinter Empire, was, for yet another time in its long history, once again playing host to an army.

The enemy, however, was far different to that that the Tevinter had faced. They now faced the Darkspawn Horde.

Lyra had to give the humans credit, the ruin was still impressive some twelve centuries later. She then noticed a human, dressed in stupidly impractical gold armour approach them, a group of guards at his heels.

"Your majesty" She heard Duncan address the stupid gold man. Whoever he was, he was probably high ranked. Stupid human titles.

Solona was looking around with childlike wonderment, in the past two months, she had seen more of the world than in the entirety of the rest of her life, and now here she was, on 'the very edge of the world', it almost made her forget why she was here.

Natia was bored.

The man in gold armour, it turned out, was his majesty, King Cailan Theirin. He had an uncharacteristically sombre look on his face.

"Duncan. Grave news." He said. Lyra noted he sounded fairly young. "Highever has fallen. We're not sure to what, but according to Arl Howe, when he arrived, Highever was burning. "

"I see…" Duncan murmured. Lyra swore that she saw a frown on his face, for a split second. The King didn't seem to notice, which made her suspect she was merely seeing things. Either that, or this King was as foolish as his pretty golden armour.

"Are these the Warden recruits?"

Duncan nodded, and gestured for them to introduce themselves.

"Lyra Mahariel." Lyra said, with a vaguely respectful nod. She knew that her anger at him was no doubt unfounded, but something about him seemed…off.

"Natia, of 'House' Brosca." Natia introduced herself with an over the top salute, and a wide grin on her face.

"Solona Amell." Both Lyra and Natia's head snapped to look at Solona, as she performed a flawless curtsey, and kept her voice level.

After exchanging greetings, Cailan left.

"Daayam Luna. Where'd you learn that?" Natia asked, in a bemused tone.

"A book!" Solona said cheerily.

The trio disbanded to go and explore the ruin.

Solona found herself wandering around with wide eyes until….

*BAM*

"You know my dear...you should really stop making that a habit." Came a familiar voice.

"Wynne? Ah Crap. Not again…"

Wynne helped the white-haired girl up, and patted her on the back.

"It's been a while, Solona. How are you?"

"I'm good Wynne! Have you seen Orzammar? It's awesome! Big walls, lots of sn-" Wynne placed a finger on Solona's mouth.

"Shush." Wynne said with a smile. A Templar came over to her, and asked her to follow him, she turned to Solona. "It is good to see you again, my dear. Good luck to you, and see you on the other side" Solona bid her goodbye, and went on her way, and eventually reached the kennels.

"Oh..'ello Miss. You wouldn' be willing to lend me a hand, would you?" The Kennelmaster asked.

Solona looked over the fence, and saw a Mabari Hound, it looked injured and tired.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Hard to say. 'e won't let me muzzle him to get a better loo-"

Solona interrupted him by grabbing the muzzle from his hand, and entering the Hound's pen. She crouched down, and offered the Hound the back of her hand to smell, when the hound came over to smell, she gently placed the muzzle on him, before giving the hound a stroke.

"Good boy…who'sa good boy, you are!" Solona cooed, before the Kennelmaster let out a sigh, and pulled her out of the pen. He then gave the hound a look over, and then came back to Solona.

"I know what's wrong with our friend here. He's ingested too much Darkspawn blood, poor fellow….Say, you aren't going into the Wilds any time soon, are you?"

Solona shrugged. "Maybe!"

The Kennelmaster dug into a pocket, and handed Solona a scrap of paper.

"This plant. If you can get me some, we might see if'n we can imprint him on you."

Solona nodded firmly. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Lyra had elected to help were she could, and was currently, helping soldiers with weapons, armour, and resources.

It was about this time that she noticed Natia, and a slew of other soldiers _gambling. _

Natia was clearly cheating.

When she saw Lyra approach, she gestured for the others to disperse.

"What?" Natia asked in a nonchalant tone

"..You were cheating." Lyra scowled.

"And? Chances are, they will be dead within a few hours." Natia pointed out.

"That doesn't give you the right to swindle them!"

The two were about to come to blows when a man with a beard very much like Duncan's came over, he wore the uniform of the Lothering regiment.

"Come on now, break it up. Focus on fighting the whopping great big Darkspawn horde rather than each other."

"Who the hell are you?" Both Lyra and Natia asked in unison.

"Jarred Hawke. Now please, just go do something else Wardens, and leave me and my soldiers out of it." The man folded his arms, and simply narrowed his eyes.

Lyra and Natia left to go and find Duncan, and did not look back.

Jarred sighed to himself. "I miss Mori. Hope she's okay in that hut."

* * *

Solona had made her way over to meet the elusive Alistair, and was rudely pushed out of the way by a mage. He even called her a fool!

"You know.." A male voice hit her ears, and she turned to see a browny-blonde haired man grinning at her "One good thing about the blight is that it brings people together."

"…You're a strange person." Solona commented, the fact that she herself was fairly strange didn't overly occur to her.

"Unsurprisingly, you aren't the first to tell me that today…" He said with a chuckle. "Wait, you aren't another Mage are you?"

Solona nodded brightly "Solona Amell! Pleased to meet you!" She chirped.

"Alistair, and if I may say, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Amell"

Solona felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she looked away. "We uh..we should probably go and find Duncan, yes?"

Alistair nodded. "Yes, we probably should."

**Sorry it took so long, and sorry I never published "A Witch's Friend", I couldn't decide how to finish it. When/If I decide how to, I'll be sure to upload it!**

**Up next, we met the mysterious Witch of the Wilds, Morrigan.**


	5. Prologue Arc: The Wilds

Alistair was, understandably, a little uncomfortable going into the wilds with the new recruits for one simple reason.

They were _all women._

Not that there was anything wrong with that fact, of course, if fact, many of the other wardens were quite happy about this fact. But with these three recruits it would bring the total female wardens in Fereldan up to a grand total of….three.

Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, it was just a tad…awkward.

"Something up?"

It was the dwarf's voice that snapped him out of his revere. Duncan had said in his letters that she was 'casteless', and she had been destined to be killed by the Orzammar guards for 'defiling the sanctity of the provings', whatever the provings were. What Duncan had also said was that she, without any formal training, had taken on and beaten some of Orzammar's best warriors.

In other words, she wasn't to be messed with.

"Hey! Blondie! Wake the fuck up!" Natia said, folding her arms.

"Alright, alright…"

"So. What'cha thinking about? You looked like you were thinking hard, there was smoke from your ears and everything." Natia teased.

"Hey!..It..it's nothing. Nothing important. "

"Ahuh….so…opinion on Lyra and Luna?"

"Luna?"

Natia give him a look. "Solona. Do try to keep up, Alistair."

"Hard to say…haven't made up my opinion yet." It was _almost _the truth. Solona, he thought was a little naïve, but had a good heart, for a mage. The Elf on the other hand? He hadn't a clue what to make of her.

Natia grinned slightly, but said no more….

* * *

After helping a poor, probably dying soldier, the group finally encountered Darkspawn, lots of them. It was a short fight, Lyra and Solona providing ranged support whilst Alistair and Natia carved the Darkspawn apart. Admittedly, it had taken some time. Solona's skill with healing magic left _a lot _to be desired, but it left the group mostly undamaged. It took a lot out of the young mage.

"Woah..so those were d-darkspawn? I'm almost afraid that the Horde'll jump us." Solona admitted.

"Calm down, Solona. Grey Wardens can sense when Darkspawn are close. We'll be fine."

"Oh good, we may die, but at least we'll be able to make our peace before we do.." Natia grinned.

"Something like that." Alistair nodded.

After the battle and a short break to recover and gather some blood, Solona let out a curious "Ooooh!" and dashed over to a fallen, moss covered log.

"Red and white flower….this will save that poor hound"

Lyra tilted her head at Solona's antics. "How old are you, exactly?"

"Eighteen!" Solona chirped.

Lyra mentally sighed. "Great.."

Solona plucked the flower, and placed it in her hair. "What?"

"Nothing." Lyra lied.

Solona grinned widely, and walked off to Natia and Alistair, leaving Lyra alone.

"Creators" Lyra muttered to herself "A child, a durgen'len and a very strange human... this is the company in which I'll die.._fantastic._"

"Hey! We're going on!" Came Natia's voice.

_Just fan-fucking-tastic._

* * *

After fighting through a small force of Darkspawn, the group finally arrived at the old, ruined remains of the Grey Warden Garrison.

Solona wondered why the Wardens had ever thought it was a good place for a garrison, given the wilds where littered with ruins. But that could just be her.

She was snapped out of her revere when a voice hit her ears.

"Well well, what have we here?"

Natia drew her blades, Lyra notched an arrow into her bow, and Alistair…did nothing.

"Hello!" Solona greeted the stranger happily. She wasn't entirely sure who this stranger was, or why she was wearing what looked like a pillowcase in lieu of a shirt or robe, but that wasn't any reason to be rude, right? Besides, she had a really nice necklace-slash-choker…thingy..and Solona wanted to know where she could get one.

"My my…I first thought you to be another scavenger, but such manners! You are not scavengers….what does that make you?"  
"Grey Wardens…uh..soon-to-be, that is." Solona nodded.

Alistair blinked a few times. Solona wasn't reacting with fear or aggression to this…chasind? At least, he thought she was a chasind.

She was having a _casual chat _with her.

Alistair concluded that Solona Amell was a very strange mage.

"I'm Solona. Solona Amell. Nice to meet you!" Solona chirped happily to the stranger.

"You may call me, Morrigan." The stranger said, a curious tone to her voice. Only one other person had treated her with such…politeness, but he was likely off fighting Darkspawn. "Now..Solona…why are you here?"

"For the Grey Warden treaties."

"The treaties? They are here no longer."

"Here no longer?" Interrupted Alistair. "Did you steal them, you…you sneaky..witch-thief!"

"I did not steal them. I have no need to do so."

"Then you wouldn't happen to know who did, would you?" Solona asked.

"'Twas my mother in fact."

"Your mother?" Alistair asked, incredulous.

"Did you expect me to spawn from some log?..Fool.."

"Then can you take us to your mother, Morrigan?" Lyra asked.

"Ah! There is the first good idea I've heard all day!"

* * *

The group followed Morrigan (Alistair protested, Solona gave him a pleading smile, and he changed his mind), to her mother house..if you could even call it a house.

"Greetings, mother. I bring before four Grey Warde-"

"I see them child." Morrigan's Mother said, and regarded them all, and spoke to Alistair. "You have remarkable self-restraint, young man."

"W-What?"

"Travelling with three young women, hm?"

"I don't…"

Morrigan's Mother let out a laugh "I'm teasing, boy. You are here for your treaties, I take it?"

"You..you did take them!"

"I protected them, young man." Morrigan's Mother said, holding out a small, wooden box. "They are in here. We will need the Grey Wardens, a Blight is upon us once again.."

Her gaze lingered on Lyra for a few, long moments. "…Oh do not mind me, you have what you came for."

"Yes, please..lea-"

"There is no need to be rude to your guests, Morrigan."

"Oh fine….follow me Wardens, let us take you from this swamp.."

As they were leaving, Solona turned back to Morrigan's Mother. "Thank you!"

* * *

Somewhere in the deep roads, something stirred.


	6. Character Log: Morrigan

**Here it is! The first of my "Character Logs". These will be spread across Everything Counts, detailing the changes to the main cast, and the history of my Wardens.**

**First up, Morrigan..**

* * *

**TWELVE YEARS BEFORE OSTAGAR…..**

_Silverhearth, that was what the village was called. This fact meant very little to the small girl dressed in plain, dusty blue clothes, as this particular piece of information was pretty much useless due to the fact that she lived in the Wilds. The girls name was Morrigan. She had golden eyes and coal black hair, which was currently tied in a short ponytail._

_The village itself was full of people, some of them yelling from makeshift stalls, some simply milling about, most were just talking to one another as they walked around. _

_Pointless._

"_Tis more boring than I thought." The young witch commented to herself as she tried not to be tripped over._

_Morrigan made her way to a wooded area, and sat down by a tree._

"_Hey! Up here!" Came a voice above her._

_Morrigan flinched , and snapped her attention to the branch above her._

_The boy was about her age, probably a few years older, dressed in a red and silver shirt, with grey leggings, and had a wide, stupid grin on his face._

"_Come on! The views far better up here!"_

_For reason she did not understand, nor care to think about, Morrigan climbed the tree, and sat beside the young boy, who helped her up the last part._

"_Ahh..see? Silverhearth." The boy said, pointing down_

"_You brought me up here to show me a grey muddy village?" Morrigan scowled._

"_Sure did!"_

_Morrigan blinked. No one had spoken to her with such…casualness, before._

"_What is it you want?" That was the next thing Morrigan thought; anyone that was 'nice' to her clearly wanted something._

_Men always wanted something, right?_

_Right?_

"_Want? Goldie, I wanted to show you this view. My Pa says that strangers are just friends you've not met yet…or never will meet, which is a greater shame."_

"_Goldie?"_

"_Your eyes are gold, and you've not told me your name yet." The boy pointed out._

"_If you must call me anything, call me Morrigan, that is my name." Morrigan huffed, and folded her arms, and then immediately uncrossed them to regain some semblance of balance._

"_Nice to meet you, Mi'lady Morrigan. I'm Jarred. Jarred Hawke."_

_Little did either of them know, that on that simple, cloudy market day, a friendship would begin._

_A highly dysfunctional, vitriolic friendship, but a friendship, nonetheless._

* * *

**NINE YEARS BEFORE OSTAGAR…..**

_Morrigan, now aged thirteen, had ventured farther from home than she ever had, all for the closest thing she had ever had to a friend._

_To Lothering, and Jarred._

_As she ran in her Wolf form, Morrigan pondered whether or not Jarred had earned her…trust? Morrigan had thought it a foolish concept before, but now? _

_She trusted him, but not fully._

_That would be foolish._

_When she arrived in 'their' area of the woods outside Lothering, Jarred was already there, a shorter girl with him._

_When she got close, said small girl ran over to her, with big, shining eyes._

"_Bro! Is this your secret friend?" She said, in the soft, sweet voice that children alone can pull off._

"_Yes Cana, this is Goldie." Jarred said, flashing Morrigan a grin._

_Cana giggled, and ran off, chanting "Jarred and Goldie sitting in a tree…."_

_Jarred smiled, and turned his attention back to Morrigan._

"_Must you call me that Jarred? I have told you many a time to call me Morrigan."_

"_How about Mori? Does Mori work for you?"_

"_No! Mori isn't Morrigan!"_

* * *

**THREE YEARS BEFORE OSTAGAR….**

_Morrigan sighed, and rested her head against Jarred's shoulder. "I…am not good at this. I did not know your father, granted, I do not know my own but…yours at least was a good man."_

"_Yeah. He was…Thanks Mori." Jarred said with a wearily smile._

_Morrigan would normally have admonished him for calling her by that nickname, but she didn't. _

_She may have a cold heart, but a cold heart was still, at least, a heart. _

_Insulting her only friend when he was grieving was….unwise. All the stories said so.._

_So she just sat next to him, head on his shoulder._

* * *

**TWO DAYS BEFORE OSTAGAR….**

_Jarred was in his armour, all with fading shine, sword at his side, shield strapped to his back._

_Morrigan thought it looked..strange. She had seen him in armour before, of course, but never when he was off to actually go and fight._

_He noticed her, and grinned._

"_Hey Mori, nice to see you."_

_Morrigan frowned._

"_I mean, 'Hey Morrigan, nice to see you.'"_

"_Better"_

_Jarred grinned, and lightly wrapped an arm around the apostate._

"_Stay safe for me Morrigan. The Darkspawn are actually a threat this time. A Blight, apparently. You going to be alright in that hut of yours?"_

"_I do not need your concern, though well meant, I am sure."_

"_That's the Morrigan I know."_

_The other men started to march off, and Jarred saluted Morrigan, a wide grin on his face._

"_See you soon Goldie."_

* * *

**FOUR HOURS BEFORE OSTAGAR…**

_Morrigan had to warn him._

_Had to warn her Jarred._

_When had she started considering him to be hers? She couldn't remember, nor did she care to._

_Have to warn him._

_She was just about to leave the old Grey Warden tower when she heard people. A group of four._

_Jarred was strong, he could wait._

_He always waited._

_He always would.._

_Right?_

* * *

She composed herself, calmed herself, and strode into view..

"Well Well, what have we here?"


	7. Prologue Arc: The Blood and The Tower

**I've added 'Chronicles' to the start of this fics name, so I can differentiate between what fits into my fic series or not. **

Solona headed straight to the kennels, and gave the flower to the Kennelmaster, who suggested that, after the battle, that they could see about imprinting the hound on her.

Solona gave a happy gasp, and leant over the 'wall', and stroked the Mabari.

The kennelmaster took that as a yes.

* * *

A few hours later, and Solona, Lyra and Natia were all waiting for Duncan and Alistair.

"Well…this is fun." Natia deadpanned.

"Isn't it just?" Lyra commented.

"Nope! This is probably highly stupid and probably dangerous." Solona said, resting her hand on her chin in thought. "Aaand that was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"You're learning Luna." Natia said cheerfully.

"That's good.. they don't teach sarcasm at the Circle." Solona said, smiling.

"Really? Because sarcasm is a staple of Dalish schooling." Lyra said, a wry grin on her face.

"Really?! That is so…sarcasm again." Solona said, slightly disappointedly.

Duncan strode over to the trio, who immediately stopped talking.

"And so we come to the joining.." He said stoically, carrying an ornate chalice with him.

"Beyond this point, there is no turning back…if you wish to walk away, do so now...you won't get another chance."

None of the recruits moved.

Duncan inwardly smiled. He had chosen well. He looked at his recruits.

Lyra. She was Warden-Commander material for sure, blunt but truthful, willing to leave her clan to spare them from having to kill her. She hadn't said the last part, but Duncan could guess.

Solona. She'd keep the Wardens from going too far. She had a good heart, Duncan could tell. But Duncan knew that that would soon change. A shame really.

Natia. The one who would do anything to ensure her survival. So long as she could extend that to include the Wardens as a whole, she'd be the ideal Warden.

"Very well..we speak only a few words before the Joining, but these have been spoken at every joining since our founding. Alistair? If you would.."

Alistair lowered his head, and recited the words…

"Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and that one day we shall join you."

"Lyra, please step forward."

The elf did so, and Duncan handed her the chalice.

"From this moment forward, you are a Grey Warden.."

Lyra quietly murmured an elven prayer under her breath, and drank…

* * *

When Lyra came to, she tried to stand, before she groaned in pain and immediately laid back down.

"Ow."

She heard Natia's chuckle in her ear. "Heheh..you're looking far less…stoic than normal, Lyra."

"Fenedhis Natia, keep it down…"

"Hey! You're the last to wake up. Luna beat the both of us, so I can't lord it over her.."

"..." Lyra hauled herself to her feet, with a little help from Natia.

"…_Solona _was the first to wake up?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yep."

Later, after they had been given their Grey Warden uniforms (Natia opted for plate armour with a hand-axe and shortsword, Lyra had the usual ranger uniform, albeit with a leaf green cloak with hood, Tamlen's bow and quiver on her back, Solona was, surprisingly, the only one that followed the actual uniform rules, although she kept her own staff.), the three newly minted Wardens were called to a war meeting, Alistair and Duncan were already there.

But it was Cailan that greeted them.

_He's still in his stupid golden armour _Lyra mentally commented.

"Ah! Here they are! The three newest Grey Wardens of Fereldan." He declared cheerfully.

Loghain gave them a reserved nod, as his gaze turned to Lyra, memories of that first warden Maric brought back filled his head. A Dalish called Asha. She had turned combat into an art-form. She had taken on an entire squad of Maric's elite soldiers in a sparring match, and was barely sweating by the time she finished beating her opponents into the ground, before offering them all a hand up.

She had clapped them on the shoulder, and thanked them for a good fight, then, if Loghain remembered correctly, promptly went and drank them all under the table.

A number of years prior, he himself had travelled with her to Orzammar, and she departed to the deep roads for her Calling.

Loghain had thought it an ignoble death for such a great warrior, somewhere in the deep roads, alone, with nothing but an endless horde of Darkspawn around her.

He hoped her death was clean. She deserved at least that.

* * *

"I'll be leading the initial charge..and then when the beacon is lit Loghain, you and your men will charge in. The only question is whom to send to light the beacon." Cailan explained.

"It's not a difficult job, but it is vital." Loghain concluded.

"Then we'll send our best. Alistair and the new Wardens will go."

"…As you say, your majesty." Lyra said quietly, she admitted to herself that it was a sound strategy, but said nothing. She didn't want to inflate his ego anymore.

At least it seemed to get them away from all the carnage of the battle…Alistair would be pleased. Probably.

Needless to say, he wasn't.

* * *

Whoever thought it was a good idea for the beacon to be housed in a tower should be shot. Preferably with flaming arrows, Lyra thought as the group of four entered the Tower of Ishal.

"Why do I always seem to end up in towers?" Solona asked.

"No idea Luna." Natia said cheerfully. "Let's just get this shit done so we can get to boozing."

"..Sounds good to me!"

Of course, fate would soon play her hand. The Darkspawn were in the Tower, and even an Ogre at the top. Solona admitted that she was terrified of Ogres from that point on, but even in spite of this, it was her who ended up taking the blighted monstrosity down, before lighting the beacon…..

Down below, Loghain made the hardest call of his life.

He called the retreat.


	8. Prologue Arc: Lothering

Lyra swore loudly, and held her head as she sat up. "….By the dread wolf, my head hurts like fu-"

"Oh good, you're awake." Morrigan's voice halted her midsentence, which, all things considered, was probably a good thing, given the amount of swears Lyra knew.

"Morrigan..right?" Lyra's head was throbbing and she could barely think straight…visions had filled her dreams. Horrific visions of things to come.

_The Mirror? It must have been the mirror…_

"That is correct, lest you had forgotten." The Witch said with a small smirk.

"What happened..last I remember Luna killed an Ogre.."

"Ah yes..the skittish mage. You'll be happy to know that she's alive. The dwarf too…although I must warn you, she has been drinking most of mothers wine…and all of her mead and ale."

_Good job on not fitting the drunken dwarf stereotype there Natia _Lyra thought. "And Alistair?"

"The man? Oh..he's alive too.."

"How..?"

"My mother turned into a giant bird and took you away in her claws." Morrigan said in a vague deadpan.

"Right…I'm probably concussed enough to believe that.."

* * *

The following events were, surreal. Natia had to admit.

First, Morrigan's Mother was Flemeth, whoever the fuck that is. Judging from Lyra's shocked look and calling her Asha'bellanar, coupled with Luna and Alistair's disbelieving looks…someone massively important. Silly surfacers.

Second, she 'gave us' her daughter to help us stop the Blight. She then gave Alistair the treaties (which Lyra swiftly took for safekeeping) and then the small band had set off on their epic adventure!...

Third….

Solona giggled as the massive Mabari hound licked her face. "Stop! Stop! It tickles..hehe…"

"A dog." Natia deadpanned.

"A Mabari!" Solona chirped.

"…It's a big, slobbery dog."

"Yep!"

"…You surfacers need serious help."

* * *

Morrigan had a small smile on her face when they reached Lothering. It meant that she might see Jarred, and if there was anyone she wanted to be with on this journey it was her l-

"Goldie! Wake up!"

Morrigan scowled at the black haired dwarf. The mark on her face looked like a reversed 'Z', and was a bloody brown colour. Her mother's tomes said that the dwarves did this only to those deemed 'Casteless'. Rejected by their God-Ancestors, they were worth less than dirt. She'd be a good ally..but..

"My name is Morriga-"

"Yeah yeah, I know Goldie. You know this town?" Natia asked.

"Yes, actually. It's called Lothering. It is merely a small stop on the King's Road. Most of the people here do not even realise how major a route they live by."

"Ahah…I wonder if that random soldier lives here.."

"Which one?"

"Jarred Hawke" Natia said, putting on a poor imitation of Jarred's voice.

Morrigan did her best not to react. But it reminded her that she should make sure that his family could prepare…

* * *

Lyra headed to the inn and took Solona, and her new hound, with her. Alistair had, quite rightly in this case, pointed out that taking a mage into the chantry was a bad idea. Morrigan had gone to keep Natia out of trouble and Alistair himself had gone alone to talk with the Revered Mother.

Which left Lyra with the youngest two members of their merry band.

Whichever of the Elven Pantheon she managed to piss off, she was sincerely sorry.

Solona pushed the door open….only to be greeted by half a trio of Loghain's men. When she made a move to go and talk to them, Lyra stopped her.

"Luna. Don't."

"Don't what?"

Lyra shot Solona a look.

Loghain's men turned and their jaws dropped a they spied the Griffon symbol on both Solona and Lyra's armour. "Wardens…you killed the King!"

Lyra sighed. "Really? Is _that _the lie he's made you swallow?"

The response of the soldiers was to draw their swords.

Lyra was about to draw her dagger, but the last person she expected to see stopped her.

A Chantry Sister…

"Gentlemen! Surely there is no need for violence? These are no doubt another pair of lost souls seeking save hav-"

"Stay out of it –sister-, else you share their fates."

Lyra sighed, and in a very swift movement, pulled her bow free, and notched an arrow into it, and levelled it with shoulder of the lead soldier. "Three."

"What are you doing?"

Solona smiled, and created a fireball in one hand. "Two."

"Now you're counting?"

"One." Both women said, and fired.

Two of the soldiers dropped their blades and held their now wounded shoulders.

The Sister smiled "Now, we can end this and move on."

Lyra walked over to the Leader and stared into his eyes. "Take a message to Loghain. Three words. _We are coming._"

The soldiers nodded, and rushed out of the inn as fast as they could, leaving their swords behind.

Lyra then turned to the Chantry Sister. "..Thank you...for trying, at least…"

"He was right though, wasn't he? You are Wardens?"

"..Yes."

"You're trying to fix things, so that's why I'm coming with you."

"…Okay."

"I have medical training and I….Did you say yes?" Leliana said, blinking

"Only if you tell us your name, Sister." Lyra smiled.

"I am Leliana."

"I am Lyra, this is Solona and…"

The Hound panted happily.

"….The Hound."

"Nice to meet you both!"

"Luna, grab their swords and bring the Hound, we need to get moving to the meeting point."

* * *

Morrigan had, possibly unwisely, left Natia to her own devices, and headed just outside of town to a small farmstead. She cautiously walked to the front door, and knocked six times in quick succession.

A woman, not much older than Solona, answered the door. She had black hair, pale skin and sparkling blue eyes.

A smile formed on her face as she recognised Morrigan. "Hello Mori."

* * *

Alistair was already waiting for Lyra's group when they arrived.

"Oh good. You've stayed out of trouble…who's the Chantry sister?"

"Leliana, our new medic." Lyra said in a vague deadpan. "And we've got bad news…the Grey Wardens are now wanted…for regicide."

Alistair's face paled.

"Awhh come on! It's not so bad! We've got the treaties, each other…land to travel.." Solona said wistfully.

"Luna you're…..actually absolutely right." Lyra commented.

"It is pleasant to see most of us are here." Morrigan's voice snapped the group out of their daze.

"Morrigan…where is Natia?"

"I had a more pressing matter to attend to, Natia swore she'd stay out of trouble."

At that moment, the meeting was cut short when they spotted Natia, accompanied by a giant of a man running to them…followed by what looked like pretty much the entire town…and they were pissed.

"Move yer arses!" Natia yelled as she passed them.

The rest of the group swiftly followed suit.

* * *

Far away, in a field near Highever, a hooded woman wearing leather armour, and a blood red cloak slowly made her way east, to Denerim, a falcon circled above her.

She carried the ancestral sword of the Cousland family…and a shield that had once bore the sigil of the Howe's, but had since been scoured clean of the red bear.

She had a bloodied bandage was wrapped around her head, covering one eye. Her auburn hair was cut short, and her face was the epitome of hate.

Seventeen year old Evette Cousland was going to kill Rendon Howe, and avenge _every single one _of the deaths he had caused….no matter how many people she had to cut down to do so.

And she knew _exactly _how she would do so.

**Up next, the Orzammar Arc begins!**


	9. Orzammar Arc: Melancholy of Lady Aeducan

Orzammar Arc or The Melancholy of Corrin Aeducan

**This is going to be a short introduction to Orzammar with my 'changes'. Chief of these is that Bhelen got caught when he tried to pit his siblings against each other. Things happened, and both Bhelen and Trian died.**

Corrin Aeducan stared emptily across her room, and wearily stood up, tugging her formal robe on, and placed her gold laurel crown on her head, and slowly made her way to the feasting chamber.

_They're all dead. _She thought.

She was right..

_Bhelen. Trian. Father. All gone….I didn't want this! I never wanted this! Trian was meant to be King...I was meant to be Commander..now he's gone. And Bhelen..my baby brother betrayed me.._

"..My Queen?"

Renvil Harrowmont's voice cut into the silence of the hall. He was Pyral Harrowmont's Eldest Nephew, and her betrothed, although most unusually in Dwarven political marriages, it was matrilineal. He was a good man, a respected battle commander, and well-liked by many in almost all of the Castes.

It also helped that Corrin had had a _massive _crush on him for most of her childhood.

"My Queen?" Renvil repeated.

"..Renvil." Corrin said with a heavy sigh.

"..The Assembly are getting more and more restless, My Queen, you need to have your coronation soon, or they will elect someone else."

"And all I will rule over is an empty house..I'm aware of that." Corrin said, resting her head against her arm.

"Corrin."

Renvil's use of her name made her turn her gaze to him.

"You need to have your coronation. To honour them."

Corrin didn't say another word.

* * *

Renvil left Corrin's chambers, and was face to face with High Constable Burs Barble, second in command of the entire Grey Warden Order, and last of the ancient and noble House Barble. He was dressed in the 'ranger' uniform with one, unsubtle difference.

He wore the skull of a high dragon as a helmet.

Renvil sighed "She's still broken."  
"Unsurprising lad. She has just lost her father and both siblings." Burs pointed out.

"I understand that, but.."

"Give her time lad. She's a good person, more importantly, she's a good dwarf. She'll honour her duty, sooner or later."

Renvil nodded. "How long?"

"The voices are mere whispers lad, at least another five years."

"You said that five years ago."

"Hah! Maybe the Calling is afraid it'll run outta Darkspawn to throw at me."

Renvil let out a laugh "I do hope so. Drink?"

"Several."


End file.
